Police, homeless and protestor clash2:03

At Flinders Street Station, homeless clash with police as they try to move them from the area ahead of station renovations. Courtesy: Seven News

February 1st 2017

a year ago

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The homeless camp next to Flinders Street station was moved this week. Picture: Mark StewartSource:News Corp Australia

“I’M ashamed of people in Australia, when homeless people are spat on and told to move on.”

Those are the words of Sacred Heart Mission volunteer Josh Farr, who says we may live in the lucky country but in fact, many of us aren’t that lucky at all.

Walking through the streets of Melbourne, there are many people wrapped in rags, turning their backs to the world with their sleeping bags.

There’s the woman on the street with a sign that says she’s hungry and three months pregnant. She’s sitting on a tight corner and busy people are practically stepping on her as they walk past. She’s too afraid to say anything.

There’s the man sleeping on the steps at St Paul’s Cathedral. He’s got a couple of mates but between them they have no belongings.

Earlier this week, a homeless camp outside Flinders Street station was told to move on and now there are barricades and fences stopping them from returning. The only thing the homeless left behind were chalk drawings on the concrete.

Rough sleepers may have shifted to Elizabeth Street after they were moved on by police. Picture: Mark StewartSource:News Corp Australia

The Victorian government announced a $9.8 million package that would house 40 people who were on Flinders Street but some were not offered it. Picture: Mark StewartSource:News Corp Australia

There are more than 100,000 homeless people in Australia and, according to Homelessness Australia, about a quarter are on the streets because they suffered some sort of family or domestic violence.

Mr Farr started volunteering after he saw some homeless men outside a convenience store.

He thought how incredibly hard it would be to ask people for money or food or just say hello and have them completely ignore you.

Mr Farr served about 300 people in five hours while he was volunteering last weekend and he said 90 per cent of homeless people he fed outwardly expressed gratitude through a smile or nod or vocally said thank you.

“Quite a lot of people even said ‘just a small portion of this’,” Mr Farr said. “People weren’t reaching over and grabbing. I didn’t have a single aggressive person.

“I think if I lined up 300 on the train or bus system and was trying to serve them, more people would be rude to me. If I were giving free food they’d want more. It wouldn’t be up to their standards.”

Earlier this month the Victorian government announced a $9.8 million package that would immediately house 40 people who were on Flinders Street.

Barricades are now in place to stop them returning. Picture: Mark StewartSource:News Corp Australia

Around a quarter of people on the streets are there because they suffered some sort of family or domestic violence, according to Homelessness Australia. Picture: Stuart McEvoy for The AustralianSource:News Corp Australia

A spokesperson from Homeless Persons Union Victoria said while some people there may have received the housing, there were still a number of people who were not offered it.

“We know this as we have conducted a number of interviews with these people in which they relayed this,” the spokesperson said. “We believe this rushed announcement from the government is a damaging insult to those who have been left behind, yet, sadly, we encounter many people experiencing homelessness who just accept their lot.

“If not that, they are consumed with simply getting through the day, finding a place to shower, to eat, and they are not always aware of government announcements.”

‘Link’ is a deaf mean who had been sleeping on Flinders Street for a couple of months and the union said he had no idea about the transitional housing announcement.

“Not one single housing or health outreach person had organised an AUSLAN interpreter to communicate this to him,” the spokesperson said. “This is despite there being a sign on which he explained himself and his situation hanging above where he slept for months.”

It took the Homeless Persons Union Victoria to organise an interpreter for him, that was just one day before he was moved on.

“This is a disgrace and illustrated what little care the government really had for the people there, despite all their seemingly nice words,” the spokesperson said.

There are around 100,000 homeless people in Australia. Picture: Stuart McEvoy for The AustralianSource:News Corp Australia

Media and police descended on Flinders Street earlier this week as the homeless people were moved on and the union said they were vulnerable people, young women with serious mental health issues, middle-aged women with a history of trauma, the list goes on.

The union was also disgusted by the media coverage of the homelessness issue and said it created a lot of danger for those sleeping on the street.

Since reports about the homeless camp that was at Flinders Street station, some people have been assaulted by members of the public and spat on.

The union said the vilification and demonisation of people experiencing homelessness needed to stop and a serious commitment by the state and federal government needed to be made to once and for all to address the country’s homelessness and housing crisis, such as by a massive rollout of public housing buildings.

“There are over 35,000 people on the Victorian public housing waiting list and over 25,000 Victorians experiencing homelessness,” the spokesperson said.

“If things keep going the way they are, most of those people will die before they ever get into public housing, and we are not exaggerating.”